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As a mother with a full-time career as a program administrator at a community mental health center, I know firsthand the challenges that often come with balancing motherhood and work. I remember the anxiety of returning to the office when my baby was just 2 months old. I still felt like I did not know what to expect and was still waiting for my life to go back to “normal”. However, I quickly discovered that when I became a mother, I joined a new community; a community of women that support each other. While the adjustment back to work took time, having the support from my colleagues and other mothers made a difference.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, making it a great time to put this critical issue in the spotlight. It’s an issue that touches every family in some way around the country. It’s evident in the problems we see played out, from mass shootings to a bullying epidemic and beyond; we have some serious issues that are causing pain and decreasing the quality of life for millions. The more we can identify the problem, and what to do about it, the better society will be.

While bullying is an act of intentional aggression carried out repeatedly over time and occurring within a relationship characterized by an imbalance of power (Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, 2008), cyberbullying is threatening or hurtful messages or images being sent using an electronic device (e.g., cell phone, computer). Because it is often done indirectly or anonymously, cyberbullying is less visible to external parties and often difficult for adults to detect and address such behavior (Nansel et al., 2001). The challenge for parents is to know when their child is being cyberbullied and what to look out for.